The Erez border crossing in Beit Hanoun between Israel and the Gaza Strip will operate as normal starting Wednesday after it was closed days earlier, the Palestinian Authority’s director of border crossings said.

Nathmi Muhanna added in a statement that "an agreement has been reached that any future internal disputes should be addressed by the special crossings committee established by prime minister of the national consensus government Rami Hamdallah."

The Israeli authorities had shut down the crossing a few days ago after security officers of the former Hamas-run government installed a movable office in front of the Palestinian side of the terminal.

The Spanish top diplomat told a press conference held on Tuesday in Gaza City, “We are working on lifting the siege on the Strip to enable its people to live in dignity.

“We are also committed to supporting the reconstruction process”, he said.

Garcia-Margallo expressed regret regarding the humanitarian and economic conditions in Gaza Strip, calling on the international community to act immediately to achieve peace and stability in the region.

During his brief stay, he visited one UNRWA-run school that is sheltering families displaced by Israel's devastating offensive on Gaza last summer.

United Nations for Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl, for his part, said many Gazans felt disappointed and frustrated by the slow pace of reconstruction.

“There are 15,000 Palestinians who are still sheltered in UNRWA schools waiting for their homes to be rebuilt. This has led to big disappointment”, he said.

He championed a speedy end to the siege on the Strip, noting that Israeli officials should be held accountable for the violations against Palestinians during Israel's seven-week military onslaught.

The UNRWA Commissioner General pointed out that the reconstruction of Gaza should not continue in the same slow pace, stressing the need that the year of 2015 should be a year of change.

Last July, Israel waged a seven week war on Gaza Strip where more than 2,000 were killed and 11,000 others injured.

The Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing announced that the total housing units affected by the Israeli war were estimated at 28,366.

Head of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) Raji Sourani stated Monday that UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry’s plan for the reconstruction of Gaza institutionalizes Israel’s siege on the Strip.During his meeting with the German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office Christoph Strässer, Sourani confirmed that the UN plan for the reconstruction of Gaza in coordination with the Israeli and Palestinian authorities is a new attempt to “institutionalize the siege”.

He warned that the siege has become strategic, saying that Gaza’s reconstruction is an impossible mission in light of the continued blockade.

The Palestinian human rights activist accused the unity government of not bearing its responsibilities towards the besieged Strip.

He also pointed out that the Egyptian authorities’ closure of the Rafah crossing has doubled the suffering of the people of Gaza.

Four months have passed since the end of Israeli summer aggression on Gaza, however nothing has been achieved as far as the reconstruction is concerned, he continued.

He briefed the German delegation about the human rights violations reported in the Strip after the last aggression, pointing to his center’s efforts along with a number of Palestinian human rights centers to prosecute Israeli war criminals and to document human rights violations with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

He said that Israel has practiced and is still practicing “the law of the jungle” against the people of Gaza.

Sourani pointed to the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the besieged Strip, stressing the urgent need to provide international protection for the civilians in Gaza during times of war according to international laws and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Gaza’s Energy Authority Monday raised alarm bells over chronic power blackouts rocking the blockaded Gaza Strip due to acute shortages in fuel reserves.Spokesperson for the Energy Authority, Ahmad Abu al-Amarein, said only 1.5 million liters of fuel were shipped last week to Gaza’s power plant, half of whose electricity generators need at least 300,000 liters per day to function properly.

“The quantity dispatched last week meets the requirements of no more than five days,” he warned.

“Hadn’t we been resorting to rationing as the ultimate emergency way-out of the crisis, Gaza’s power plant would cease to function starting on Thursday,” he added.

Al-Amarein further drew attention to the huge amounts of fuel and funds needed to work out the power crisis in besieged Gaza, saying that inflation in the price of Israeli fuel and the taxes imposed by the Ramallah-based authorities, along with the shrinkage in collected bill rates and the latest Israeli offensive on Gaza, have sparked an urgent appeal for emergency supplies.

Acute shortages in fuel have forced Gaza’s plant to work along the “12 hours off, six hours on” emergency schedule as a last resort aimed at assuaging the rolling electricity outages rocking the blockaded enclave.

The Egyptian authorities went back on promises to unblock the Rafah crossing on humanitarian grounds, just a couple of hours after they decided to open the passageway for three days as of Tuesday.

Head of Gaza’s border crossings authority said the Egyptian side broke its promises to open the crossing just two hours after it had notified us of their intents to unlock the route for three days—Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday allegedly due to the disappearance of a security officer from an Egyptian seaport.

Abu Sabha voiced deep disappointment over the annulment, warning of the serious repercussions of such a move on thousands of Gaza’s patients, humanitarian cases, students, and stranded wives.

He slammed the alleged abduction of the Egyptian officer, dubbing it an injudicious act that only sharpens the crisis rocking the besieged enclave.

Earlier, the Egyptian side notified the Gaza’s border crossings authority of their intents to open the Rafah crossing, blocked for several months, for three days starting Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a series of live snapshots broadcast by al-Jazeera TV revealed the damage wrought on the residents of the Egyptian Rafah border town due to the Egyptian army’s preparation to create a buffer zone along the Gaza borders.

The Egyptian army stepped up combing operations, using a drove of Apache helicopters, in search for the missing soldier.

The pictures document the launch of a series of demolition processes by the Egyptian military forces. The camera captured the army as flattening large swaths of Rafah and blowing up civilian homes and structures to widen the buffer zone.

Two Sinai citizens, obviously subjected to heavy gunfire shots, were proclaimed dead in the process.

Another four-year-old child died of freezing air inside one of the makeshift tents set up in the area after the Egyptian army blew up her family home in Rafah some few weeks ago.

The Egyptian authorities decided to unblock the Rafah border-crossing with Gaza for three days as of Tuesday, Gaza’s Crossings and Border Authority said.

“The Egyptian side notified us of their intents to open the Rafah crossing for three days—Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday,” head of the crossings authority, Maher Abu Sabha, told the PIC.

Abu Sabha called on all holders of visas and foreign passports registered in stand-by lists to fetch their entry permits on Monday from the Abu Khadra complex.

Egypt has been blocking the Rafah crossing for several months following the Sinai attack, which killed some 25 soldiers on the Egyptian side.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) called on Egypt to open the Rafah crossing unconditionally before all passengers, not only the Umrah pilgrims.

Politburo member of the Democratic Front Ziad Jarghoun said in a statement Sunday the situation has gone from bad to worse in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s tough blockade policies and the continuous closure of border crossings.

He called on the Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah crossing permanently so as to allow thousands of Gaza’s patients, humanitarian cases, students, businessmen, and holders of foreign passports to smoothly get out of and into the blockaded Strip.

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) isolated on Monday morning the village of Azzun to the north of Qalqilya Governorate after closing its four entrances.

Local sources told the PIC reporter the IOF soldiers stormed the town, from its western side, amid heavy firing of tear gas and stun grenades. The forces were chasing inhabitants of the town for stone throwing, as they claimed.

They said the occupation forces searched provocatively searched houses spreading fear among women and children.

IOF patrols are deployed heavily at the village’s entrances and soldiers are banning the entry and exit of its residents, the sources said.

Israeli forces, early Sunday morning, closed all entrances to the town of Asira Ash-Shamaliya, north of Nablus, according to a local official.

Head of the town's municipality, Nasir Jawabreh, told WAFA Palestinian News & Info Agency that Israeli soldiers in military vehicles arrived at dawn, closing all four entrances leading to the town, preventing anyone from leaving, while only allowing entry to its residents.

Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B'Tselem, stated that Israel imposes restrictions on Palestinian travel within the West Bank, obstructs access to areas where it seeks greater control, and prevents travel between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

"Israel's policy results in real hardships and constant uncertainty in people's daily lives in terms of everyday tasks such as getting to work or school or visiting relatives. It also reflects the view that freedom of movement is not an inalienable right but a privilege that Israel can choose to bestow or withhold, " the group further stated.

"Israel's policy [of restricting movement] is a blatant discrimination based on ethno-national origin since these restrictions apply only to Palestinians. Jewish residents are permitted to move about freely in areas where Palestinian movement is restricted. Thus, Israel 's policy violates the right to equality that is prescribed in all the human rights conventions to which Israel is party.

"While Palestinian movement is severely restricted, a separate system of roads that are closed to Palestinians or that bypass Palestinian communities has been set up for Settlers to ensure their unrestricted movement in the West Bank and between the West Bank and Israel."

According to a 2013 report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) the number of obstacles to movement inside the West Bank increased to 542 during 2013 from 529 in 2012.

Hundreds of Europeans, Arabs and Palestinians joined two sit-ins in solidarity with Gaza on Sunday. One was held in Dortmund in Germany and the other in the Italian city of Milan. Both sit-ins were held as part of the activities organized by the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza.

In Germany, the Palestinian Assembly and Arab communities organized a sit-in in Dortmund city to the west of the country.

Dozens of Palestinian, Arabs and German activists waved banners reading: “People of Gaza deserve to live”. They raised Palestinian flags and other banners demanding an end to the siege on Gaza.

The participants called for the reconstruction of Gaza, opening of Rafah Crossing, and building the Gaza Harbor.

On the other hand, a solidarity sit-in was held in Milan, north of Italy, in support of the besieged Gaza Strip during which candles were lit.

Palestinians along with foreigners, who participated in the event, raised Palestinian flags and waved banners calling for ending the Gaza siege.

The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza declared two weeks ago the launch of activities in the European continent in solidarity with Gaza on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Israeli aggression on Gaza in late 2008.

Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, head of the higher Islamic committee, called for reconstructing the impoverished Gaza Strip and ending its siege, describing the blockade as a crime against humanity and mass punishment against the population.

"What adds insult to injury is the incidents that have happened in recent days as a result of the cold spell, and it is expected to see hundreds of families homeless once again and a number of children die of hunger or cold," Sheikh Sabri stated in press remarks on Sunday.

"It is unfortunate that the Arab countries stand idly by or claim they cannot help because of the ineffectiveness of the unity government, which has actually proved its impotence in the Gaza Strip," he added, holding Egypt, in particular, responsible for the suffering of the population in Gaza.

He called on the unity government to shoulder its responsibilities towards Gaza and provide it with a special budget to confront emergency situations.

"We have noticed that there are no minimum mechanisms to confront natural disasters, so there is a need for having a special budget for emergency situations in order to save displaced families and protect children and women," he said.

The European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza on December 27 launched pro-Gaza solidarity events that are slated to end on January 18.

In a related context, the international popular committee for the support of Gaza called on pro-Palestinian groups to continue organizing activities in different European and foreign countries against the blockade on Gaza.

The committee urged all supporters of the Palestinian people to demand their governments and parliaments to pressure Israel to end its blockade on Gaza and its occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The Palestinian Assembly in Germany called on the Berlin government to take part in current campaigns to lift the tight Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip for eight uninterrupted years.

A letter of protest submitted Friday to the German Foreign Ministry urged the German government and the state’s stakeholders to take up their responsibilities regarding the tragic state of affairs in the blockaded Gaza Strip and work on lifting the siege at the soonest time possible.

Head of the Palestinian Assembly, Suheil Abu Shamala, said the protest letter stressed the need to press ahead with the launch of the rebuilding process, granting Gazans their right to establish a seaport, and unblocking the border crossings before passengers and humanitarian aid.

The letter further appealed for the prosecution of the Israeli occupation government for its persistence in maintaining the siege.

The Assembly urged Germany to stop restocking the Israeli occupation with weapons and to suspend all partnership deals struck between Europe and Israel until a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement is signed.

The letter spoke out against Israel’s violations of human rights and war crimes against Palestinian civilians all along its notorious offensives on the Gaza Strip, which took away the lives of thousands of innocent citizens and forced others to wander down and out across Gaza streets, having no place to run to or hide into.

The pro-Palestine activists further pushed Germany to adopt a non-ambivalent stance regarding the Palestinian cause, help Palestinians restore their legitimate rights, and take a tougher line against Israel’s breaches of human rights and the international humanitarian law.

The Palestinian Ministry of Interior and National Security Thursday denounced the Palestinian Authority (PA) liaison office for the closure of the Beit Hanoun border crossing without prior notice before passengers and humanitarian cases.

The ministry described the closure of the crossing as part of the arbitrary measures and mass punishment policy pursued by the PA-controlled unity government against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Local sources affirmed that the PA liaison office at the crossing closed the crossing at the behest of deputy minister of civil affairs Naser al-Siraj.

They added that the closure took place after the Palestinian national security pitched a tent near the crossing to protect its personnel there against the winter cold.

A FIFA delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip on Monday after deliberately being held up for about three hours at the Israeli-controlled crossing of Beit Hanoun (Erez).The delegation, who came to help in funding projects for damaged football stadiums, was supposed to watch a match between two Gazan teams but missed it because of the delay at the crossing.

Deputy head of the Palestinian football association Ibrahim Abu Salim told Anadolu news agency that the delegation, led by FIFA development manager for Asia David Borja, would provide one million dollars for the rehabilitation of 20 stadiums in Gaza, including the replacement of their synthetic pitches.

He said the Palestinian football association would urge the FIFA to establish new facilities suitable for major tournaments, describing the visit of the delegation as greatly important for the sports sector.

For his part, Abdul-Salam Haneyya, member of the higher council for youth and sports said that the delegation came to initiate important projects for the football sector in Gaza.

Haneyya added that the delegation intends to submit a comprehensive report on the situation related to the Palestinian football to FIFA president Joseph Blatter.

Blatter will come to Gaza to inaugurate the 20 rehabilitation projects once they are finished, according to head of the delegation David Borja.

Borja stated yesterday in Gaza that the FIFA is committed to "supporting football in the Gaza Strip and its development by bringing help and materials."

Israel's three devastating wars on Gaza caused widespread destruction to the sports infrastructure in Gaza.

During the last war alone, Israel's aerial and artillery attacks caused damage estimated at three million dollars to 30 sports facilities and led to the killing of 32 athletes.

A delegation of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) is set to pop in Gaza Monday to join in repairing 10 stadium pitches sponsored by the federation.

Palestinian sources said a FIFA team is to arrive in Gaza via the Beit Hanoun crossing early on Monday morning.

A press conference, followed by a series of appointments with representatives of the Palestinian Football Federation, is expected to be held in the Beit Lahia stadium, north of the blockaded Gaza Strip.

The envoy is also expected to stop at the Yarmouk stadium in Gaza City and to attend a football match of the Palestinian Premier League in Khan Younis, to the south of Gaza.

The FIFA had pledged a million dollar to refurbish 20 pitches and grass terrains in Gaza stadiums.

Political Bureau Member of Hamas, Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, voiced Hamas’s disappointment over Egypt’s shooting of a Palestinian youngster at the Rafah border crossing, calling on the Egyptian authorities to unblock the border crossing without further delay.

Abu Marzouk was speaking during a stopover at the home of the youngster Zaki al-Houb, shot dead by the Egyptian military forces late Friday at the Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza.

“Our language of communication with our Egyptian brothers and sisters has never been of this sort. We’d better unblock the borders and open the crossings. . . .We’re deeply sad that this happened.”

“The blood of innocent people should not be shed without reason,” he said.

“We’re not used to such attacks. The zone where the shooting occurred is a border area. We’ve often taken steps towards Egypt just as Sinai’s people have always done,” he added.

The Egyptian army killed the youngster Zaki Iyad al-Houbi, 17, afternoon on Friday at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Palestine.

Two Palestinian children died on Saturday evening after a fire engulfed their family home in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Spokesman for the Health Ministry Ashraf al-Qudra said the five-year-old child Amr Mohamed al-Habil and his cousin Khaled, 4, succumbed to the devastating fire that suddenly broke out at al-Habil’s family home at the Shati refugee camp.22-year-old Mohamed Khaled al-Habil was seriously injured in the same incident.

Spokesman for the Civil Defense Mohamed al-Maydana said the fire was caused by a lit candle at the casualties’ family home.

A power crisis rocking the war-battered Gaza Strip with the advent of a freezing winter has made life unbearable for Gazans. Due to the blockade and scarce fuel supplies to the sole power generation station in the Strip, houses are supplied with power for only 4 hours a day.